What Centessa Pharmaceuticals does

Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc was a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company incorporated in England and Wales, listed on NASDAQ under ticker CNTA, with operational offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts and a registered office in London. The company pursued an asset-centric R&D model focused on orexin receptor 2 (OX2R) agonists for sleep-wake, neurological, neurodegenerative, and neuropsychiatric disorders, employing structure-based drug design, high-resolution crystallography, and cryo-EM to develop small-molecule agonists that overcome historical medicinal chemistry challenges in orexin agonism.

Its lead clinical asset was ORX750 (cleminorexton), an oral, highly potent and selective OX2R agonist in Phase 1 and Phase 2a (CRYSTAL-1) development for narcolepsy type 1, narcolepsy type 2, and idiopathic hypersomnia. Two follow-on OX2R agonists, ORX142 (neurological and neurodegenerative disorders) and ORX489 (neuropsychiatric disorders, co-developed with Nxera Pharma), extended the franchise into adjacent indications. The company also maintained the proprietary LockBody® immuno-oncology platform, which engineers antibodies that remain locked in an inactive configuration systemically and unlock within the tumor microenvironment to selectively drive effector function while avoiding systemic toxicity.

Commercially, Centessa was pre-revenue, generating no product sales prior to acquisition. Its go-to-market model was a traditional prescription pharma approach targeting specialty pharmacies, hospital pharmacies, and retail pharmacies via healthcare-provider prescribing channels following regulatory approval. Capital was sourced through three public ADS offerings totaling $575M (April 2024, September 2024, November 2025) on top of $550M in 2021 private rounds, funding clinical operations. Centessa was acquired by Eli Lilly and Company in a deal announced March 31, 2026 and closed June 24, 2026 for up to $7.8 billion ($38.00 per share cash plus contingent value rights up to $9.00 per share tied to regulatory milestones), after which CNTA trading on Nasdaq was halted and Centessa ceased operating as an independent entity.

Name

Centessa Pharmaceuticals

Legal name

Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc

Website

https://centessa.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc was a UK-incorporated, NASDAQ-listed clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing orexin receptor 2 agonists (lead asset ORX750) for narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia, plus the LockBody immuno-oncology platform, acquired by Eli Lilly in June 2026 for up to $7.8 billion.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Clinical-Stage Biopharmaceuticals (Sleep-Wake and Neurological Therapeutics)

NAICS

Pharmaceutical Preparation Manufacturing (325412), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing (3254)

SIC

Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834)

akta.pro primary industry

Neurology & CNS Specialty Pharmaceuticals (HLAIACAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Neurology & Psychiatry (CNS) Pharmaceuticals (HLAIAAAF)

Keywords

• Clinical-stage biopharmaceuticals
• Orexin receptor agonists
• Sleep-wake disorder therapies
• Narcolepsy drug development
• Immuno-oncology therapeutics

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Drug Development and Commercialization: Pre-revenue clinical-stage company. Revenue will be generated through sales of approved pharmaceutical products, primarily ORX750 for sleep-wake disorders upon regulatory approval. The company was acquired by Eli Lilly in 2026 for up to $7.8 billion, with the acquisition completed in June 2026.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Centessa Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a pipeline of oral orexin receptor 2 (OX2R) agonists — lead candidate ORX750 (cleminorexton) for narcolepsy type 1, narcolepsy type 2, and idiopathic hypersomnia, plus ORX142 for neurological/neurodegenerative disorders and ORX489 for neuropsychiatric disorders — designed using structure-based drug design, high-resolution crystallography, and cryo-EM. The company also operates the proprietary LockBody® immuno-oncology antibody platform. The company is pre-revenue with no commercialized products and was acquired by Eli Lilly in June 2026.

Product overview

Centessa Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a pipeline of orexin receptor 2 (OX2R) agonists designed using structure-based drug design, high-resolution crystallography, and cryo-EM. The company's lead product ORX750 (cleminorexton) is in Phase 1 and Phase 2a clinical trials for narcolepsy type 1, narcolepsy type 2, and idiopathic hypersomnia, with additional OX2R agonists (ORX142 and ORX489) in development for neurological, neurodegenerative, and neuropsychiatric disorders. The company also maintains the LockBody® Technology Platform, an early-stage immuno-oncology program focused on tumor-selective antibody therapeutics. Note: Centessa Pharmaceuticals was acquired by Eli Lilly in 2026 for approximately $7.8 billion.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• LockBody® Technology Platform: A proprietary technology platform designed to selectively drive potent effector function activity to the tumor microenvironment while avoiding systemic toxicity, aimed at redefining immuno-oncology treatment for patients with cancer.

Products and services

• ORX750 (Cleminorexton) ORX750 (cleminorexton) is Centessa's lead clinical-stage drug candidate: an orally administered, highly potent and selective orexin receptor 2 (OX2R) agonist designed to mimic the body's natural neuropeptide orexin and activate OX2 receptors in the brain to keep patients awake. It is in Phase 2a clinical development (the CRYSTAL-1 study) for the treatment of narcolepsy type 1 (NT1), narcolepsy type 2 (NT2), and idiopathic hypersomnia (IH). It is intended for patients with chronic sleep-wake disorders characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness.
• ORX142 ORX142 is an orexin receptor 2 (OX2R) agonist in clinical development by Centessa Pharmaceuticals for the treatment of neurological and neurodegenerative disorders. It uses the same structure-based drug design approach as ORX750 and is targeted at conditions involving impaired attention, cognitive deficits, and fatigue.
• ORX489 ORX489 is an orexin receptor 2 (OX2R) agonist in clinical development by Centessa Pharmaceuticals for the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders. It was developed through Centessa's research collaboration with Nxera Pharma, which holds intellectual property rights and equity interests in the jointly developed program and received a $3 million milestone payment for ORX489 in March 2026.
• LockBody® Technology Platform LockBody® is Centessa's proprietary immuno-oncology technology platform featuring LockBody® antibodies designed to selectively drive potent effector function activity to the tumor microenvironment while avoiding systemic toxicity. The antibodies use a locked configuration outside tumors and an unlocked configuration inside the tumor microenvironment, providing dual-requirement activation for an enhanced therapeutic index.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Nxera PharmacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 March 2026Nxera Pharma is a key development partner for Centessa's OX2R agonist pipeline. Nxera holds intellectual property rights and equity interests in the jointly developed orexin receptor 2 agonist program. Centessa achieved a $3 million milestone payment for ORX489 in March 2026. Nxera retains rights to milestone payments, royalties, and an equity stake as part of the acquisition by Eli Lilly.
• Project SleepminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPatient advocacy organization providing education and awareness resources for narcolepsy and sleep disorders. Centessa partners to support the broader patient community through education, advocacy, and access to resources.
• Wake Up NarcolepsyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPatient advocacy organization dedicated to raising awareness of narcolepsy and supporting individuals living with the condition through education and community resources.
• Narcolepsy NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational nonprofit organization providing support, education, and advocacy resources for people with narcolepsy and their families.
• eNAP (European Narcolepsy Association)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean patient advocacy organization for narcolepsy providing community resources and support across European regions.
• Hypersomnia FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPatient advocacy organization focused on idiopathic hypersomnia and related sleep disorders, providing education and support resources for patients and families.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/centessa
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/centessa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors17 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Centessa Pharmaceuticals